• Andrew W.K., who quietly released a fantastic piano album at the end of 2009, is loudly dropping his unreleased 2006 album, Close Calls with Brick Walls. While the album did find a home in Japan four years ago, this marks the first time the album will be widely available in North America and the United Kingdom.

• For their television debut, Beach House performed “Zebra” on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon this past Friday. Here’s the video:

• Keyboardist and songwriter (and master of the curled mustachio) Franz Nicolay has officially left The Hold Steady. As he states on his website, his departure has been planned since last fall and now he’s free to promote his current album and EP, release his forthcoming collection of writings, and produce some albums.

• Are you and/or your band dreaming of stardom and starting your own niche label to release that soon-to-be blogger favorite seems far too daunting? Best Buy is now in the business of shelving their stores with your album. For the low price of a $250 non-refundable fee (and $100 for each album after), Best Buy will house your CD in between stacks of appliances and electronics. The good news is with each album sold, you can net $5.15 of direct profit!

• From the amount of kids in attendance at Bumbershoot last year, this news should go over well: 4AD has pulled the curtain back on their latest talent acquisition: Gang Gang Dance. The promise of a new album before the end of 2010 is rumored. You’ve got to please those taskmasters.

• Sorry, Prince: as a result of last night’s game, your victory song for the Minnesota Vikings, “Purple and Gold,” is no longer needed… though based on listener response, that’s probably just as well.

• The hardest working band in America (yeah, I said it) is about to release a new album and hit the road once again in support. Dr. Dog is slated to release Shame, Shame April 6th via their new home, Anti-. As of now, the band doesn’t have a Seattle date scheduled on their lengthy list of tour dates but if we cross our fingers, close our eyes, and click our heels three times maybe we’ll get lucky.

• Ever wonder what’s on your favorite artists’ iPods? Rock icon David Bowie shares with The Observer what’s on his as he promotes his forthcoming live double album, A Reality Tour. From WWII-era New Orleans piano music to Chinese folk to African blues, the Thin White Duke’s playlist is unsurprisingly eclectic.

• You can expect the late night talk shows to be full of repeats these next two months, as Conan O’Brien has made his exit from the “Tonight Show” and Jay Leno transitions back to his old spot. Meanwhile, the (mostly) younger hosts are sure to pick up the slack. In fact, this week Mayer Hawthorne, Silversun Pickups, and Wilco are making the rounds with Kimmel, Carson Daly, Craig Ferguson. Here are the rest of the highlights, new and old:

  Monday, January 25

  Carson Daly: Franz Ferdinand (R)

  Tuesday, January 26

  David Letterman: The Low Anthem (R)
  Jimmy Kimmel: Silversun Pickups

  Wednesday, January 27

  David Letterman: Findlay Brown (R)
  Jimmy Kimmel: Mayer Hawthorne
  Carson Daly: Cold War Kids (R)

  Thursday, January 28

  David Letterman: The HotRats (R)
  Craig Ferguson: Wilco
  Jimmy Fallon: Ringo Starr (R)
  Carson Daly: Lily Allen (R)

  Friday, January 29

  David Letterman: Julian Casablancas (R)
  Craig Ferguson: Corinne Bailey Rae
  Carson Daly: Phoenix (R)
  

Greetings KEXPeeps. It’s that time of year… after weeks of agonizing over thousands of choices, each KEXP DJ is supposed to come up with their favorite albums of the year. Which presents the question… Do I choose the ones I think are the most accomplished musically? Or do I choose the ones that I listen to at home and in the car every day?

I went with the ones that are my soundtrack to everyday life. Each record has a different purpose. Is it a headphone record (nothing else is happening but the listening, best done lying on the floor with a pillow and giant headphones)? Is it a car album (for road trips, traffic and general neighborhood disturbance)? A cleaning record (very valuable, underrated really)? Or one that changes my living room into a dance club?

Let’s start with number one:

1. Glitter and Doom Live by Tom Waits
I don’t know if I’d recommend this for the general public, but if you’re a fan of Tom it’s a must have. I’d categorize this baby as a “best friend record” – meaning the record takes you right up next to one of your favorite artists. Best heard on headphones on your living room floor. Tom is by far my favorite living artist. And the tension and vulnerability in these songs is beautiful. It’s like a diamond in the rough that has no aspirations to be polished. Beautiful, raw and solid as a rock.

2. Born Like This by Doom
Formerly known as MF Doom, this guy is seriously twisted, brilliant and funny. This is an album that is great for the car (or anywhere you are stuck and need to be entertained), as listening to Doom’s take on the state we’re in is always fascinating. His warm, grainy, almost-whispered delivery, mixed with a whirling carnival of intelligent pop-culture subjects is a path through the madness. The beats are understated and simple, the loops cinematic. Doom is not to be missed, no one is more real. Parental discretion is advised…

3. Thunderheist by Thunderheist
This Canadian duo turn my living room into a dance floor. The beats hit hard but (like all the electronics I like) are very warm. Isis’s vocals are sexy but not false. The lyrics are dirty, but not tacky. There’s also an urban edge to the writing that I aspire to. This is their debut, and the concert at Chop Suey (which almost no one knew about) was a highlight of my year.

4. Music for Men by Gossip
At first when I heard this record I was dissapointed. Their last album “Standing In The Way of Control” was SO much more original lyrically. There are way too many cliché’s in the writing of these songs for my taste. But Beth Ditto even at her worst is amazing, and the sincerity of the delivery makes this record work. She’s one of the most exciting artists to see play live, and her band is only getting better.

5. Daptone Gold by Various Artists
What a surprise to find my favorite Daptone label songs all on one record! Daptone is one of the few truly indie labels left. Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings built their studio and offices in Brooklyn for the label themselves. And they run it on a daily basis. The money for the building was made by selling VINYL. These guys are incredible and this is a solid soul collection worthy of praise for years to come with performances by Sharon Jones, The Dap Kings, Lee Fields, Budos Band and more.

6. Miike Snow by Miike Snow
Miike Snow is one of the most original groups to come out of 2009. They take 80’s style drum pads and loops and play them live onstage next to a drummer with a full rock kit. The melodies are folk-pop and the lyrics masculine, dark and extremely vulnerable.

7. xx by The xx
This new band is taking the indie world (and the KEXP DJ Top 10 of 2009 Lists) by storm.
Male-female vocal interplay rides on romantic words. Dreamy guitars are woven over modern electronic beats. There is an exposed feelings to the singers, as if they are on some sort of rock pedestal, playing their hearts out in an understated, intense performance.

8. Temporary Pleasure by Simian Mobile Disco
Before this record, SMD was known as a mostly instrumental band. But this 2009 release adds a bunch of guests (most notably Beth Ditto from Gossip) and memorable melody lines, yet is still extremely modern and danceable.

9. Phantogram EP by Phantogram
Phantogram are a true psychedelic group and another great new band from 2009. Unlike XX who are more exposed vocally, Phantogram’s melodies are buried (but not so much you can’t hear them) in a lush landscape of lights. There are a few rough spots on the record but the high points will give you a pleasant sense of vertigo.

10. Tonight by Franz Ferdinand
My friend (and KEXP co-worker) Julia popped this record in on the way to the Sasquatch Festival at the Gorge this summer. It’s an energetic, happy record with an indie edge. And every song on here contains a sense of roguish fun – and after seeing them at Bumbershoot I know that they are actually having a good time playing. A perfect roadtrip record that will forever remind me of that day with Julia and Nathan going off to see our favorite bands on a sunny summer day.

more photos here